【凯源】Mountains and Rivers [GCA2019X]

第十章 // Chapter 10

It was around midnight when they reached Chongqing, and it was deep winter, but even though they both were bundled up in thick jackets and two layers of pants each, it was still bitterly cold. In the end, the person who was supposed to fetch them didn't arrive, so they had no choice but to walk around and find a hotel to stay in.

It must have been very late, because they didn't see a single taxi cab anywhere on the deserted streets. The street lamps cast a dim light on the street, making their shadows grow long and short and two and three. It was only after they walked for half-and-hour or so until they saw a cab, and it was only the cab. The driver was nowhere to be seen.

Junkai pointed at the yellow car. "There."

"It's no use, the driver's disappeared."

"It will, just get in."

One of the servants had packed them each a small lunch to eat on the way to Chongqing. Yuan looked suspiciously at Junkai, wondering if there were any drugs in his sandwich, but in the end he still got into the taxi, half believing that Junkai would think of some fantastical plan and half wondering if they had to spend the night in the taxi and what the driver would think if he opened the door, ready to start a day's work, and see two boys in his taxi — having spent a full night in there but still refusing to pay, because Yuan sure wasn't going to and he's not sure Junkai would.

Just as he sat on the leather, he felt an involuntary judder from the vehicle.

Junkai's voice drifted in. "And... we're moving!"

Yuan, in the cab, felt the taxi's tires move on the frosted ground, and a smile crept onto his face, letting him feel a sense of elation and freedom that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Junkai, pushing him, went in a circle around a stretch of road circulated around a fountain. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he shouted, "Is the great master satisfied now?"

"Not satisfied, the standard of this ride really is too low for someone like me." Yuan called back, laughter stealing a part of his sentence.

"You're so hard to please!"

Junkai face appeared in the window, and Yuan leaned out towards him. "No, actually, I'm quite happy."

"Really?"

Their faces were separated by nothing but an inch of air, and Junkai was panting from pushing the car while Yuan was still under the effects of laughter a few minutes ago.

Yuan used a finger to brush away a droplet of sweat on Junkai's cheek.

"Really."

The next day, Junkai went to carry out his task, because his father said that this high-ranking American official would be present and he must wear a suit, gel his hair, some other things Junkai didn't pay attention to (again).

Just five minutes after he left the hotel they were staying in, Yuan received a note pushed in from under the door. After reading the scrap of paper's content, Yuan looked around furtively (out of pure habit, they had a room on one of the higher floors and Yuan was quite sure no construction worker could read the paper from where they were at) before wrapping the fire detector with a wet cloth and burning the piece of paper.

At lunch, he went to meet the other.

He looked like a very young man, perhaps younger than Yuan, maybe even a student. As soon as he opened his mouth, bad news sprouted from it: "Something unexpected happened."

"The original plan had at least ten people in it. In the end, we discovered an undercover agent impersonating one of ours, and we don't even know who it is, so they're all useless now."

"Then how many useful people are left?"

"Two."

Yuan looked at him. "Me and you?"

"Me and you."

The older was silent for a while, before continuing: "There's no more time, and very little manpower."

The boy tapped his brain. "Basically none. We're not very good physically, but mentally..."

"We'll just have to give it out all."

"Correct."

Yuan was silent for a while, and the other was too, both thinking of the future and what lay in there for them. Finally, Yuan straightened and poured two full glasses for each of them. "Let's drink... it's going to be our last glass."

The clinking of glass meeting fragile glass sounded as they touched their cups with each other's. "To victory."

Yuan drained his glass, feeling the burning alcohol slide down his throat and explode into flames, and as he gazed out the window at the cloudy sky above them, he murmured, "to freedom."

Junkai spent a long time at the company, having been held back by said American businessman just as he was leaving and having a few cups of alcohol and small talk (strained on his side), and when he arrived at the hotel it was already late evening. Upon seeing that he was back, Yuan set down the newspapers he had in his hands and went to pour a glass of water for him.

"How was it?"

"Okay. The manager's a bit muddle-headed but a hardworking person. The American businessman behaves like a terrorist and probably is one." Junkai recounted the painful small-talk and the many cups of wine, although half-way Junkai said of a stomach condition that didn't allow him to drink too much alcohol.

It was warm in the hotel room, as after Junkai went out Yuan felt a perpetual chill about him, so he turned up the thermostat. When Junkai took off the winter jacket, Yuan noticed the scar on his neck, outlined by his hair. It hadn't seemed to start fading with time.

He reached and his fingers touched Junkai's neck. "The scar's still there."

"It's isn't the one you cut."

Yuan said, rather thoughtfully, "If I had known earlier, I would have cut deeper."

"What?"

Junkai's eyes widened.

"Haha... drink some water, I'll tell you our plan."

Junkai, holding the glass, felt both flattered and shocked. "When did you suddenly become so good to me?"

Yuan paused. "Am I usually bad to you?"

"No... just not that level of good." In fact, it could be bad, his neck, foot and waist injuries were still there.

Yuan said: "I figured it out already, I'm going to treat you a little bit better now."

"How about later?"

Yuan smiled at him. "From now on, I'll treat you a little bit better."

Yuan's smile was warm, gentle, and Junkai suddenly felt as if everything was dim, as if the light had suddenly been blocked by something translucent, he always felt that Yuan was a cold person, that no matter how hard he tried he would still be the never-thawing snow at the top of the highest mountain.

But now it didn't seem that his efforts were all to waste, because Yuan's smile was like water, warm and soft, caressing one's skin oh so gently, and he felt his mental state growing ever so slightly confused...

And then he closed his eyes, dazed.